PRE-GAME RANT

Smytty Returns.

I have to say I don’t like the heat Ryan Smyth has been taking lately. There has been talk out there that fans are turning on him. I don’t think it’s true. I hope it’s not anyways. Yah, he’s struggled. But a guy can struggle and we can accept it as time passing.. we don’t need to throw him to the wolves and insult him, suggesting he has no work ethic. We know Smyth is a warrior that gives it his all. It’s possible he’s lost his step, yes, but I’d say in all of this, be good fans and don’t insult the guy’s character. One former NHLer, Rhett Warrener, called him a joke in a recent newspaper article on the Calgary Sun. Well, he said he’s becoming a joke. Smytty played it cool when told that by reporters though, and just said he won’t address those comments. But I’m sure it affects a player. Maybe he should take a lesson from Warrener who retired before he lost any relevance… except in Warrener’s case it was also before he had any relevance. Anyways, I won’t harp on that comment much.

The lines are revamped again and Ryan Smyth and Ryan Whitney are back in. At forward, Teemu Hartikainen will replace Nail Yakupov on the 2nd line. This is deserved, as he’s been playing very well. It’ll be good to see him with some offensive talent. Yakupov gets the boot down to the 3rd line where he will play left wing on a line with Eric Belanger and Ryan Smyth. Don’t knock it until you see it, I guess. You never know. But really, the offensive weapons are all in the top six, save for Yakupov. He will get powerplay time though on a line with Sam Gagner, Jordan Eberle, Whitney and Smyth. The first powerplay unit will be The Nuge, Hartikainen, Ales Hemsky, Justin Schultz and Taylor Hall. I have to admit, those powerplay lines excite me.

On defense, Ladi Smid will pear up with Mark Fistric. That should be a bruising pair. The Schultz “brothers” will stay together. Whitney will pair up with Jeff Petry. We’ll see how that goes.

Devan Dubnyk will get the start.

Corey Potter and Magnus Paajarvi are healthy scratches.

Edit: Lennart Petrell Was hit by a puck in warmup.. Paajarvi takes his place in the game.

Oilers set a franchise record tonight with the most shots on net they’ve ever had. They beat the old record set in 1986 by 1. Of course this is one of those meaningless records, but I still was glad to see it beat. The Oilers fell behind early in this one 3-0 in the first. The period ended 3-1. In the 2nd period, Khabibulin replaced Dubnyk. he allowed 1 more goal, but he was phenomenal. He deserved the win, and I thought he could have gotten a star, but in a 6-4 game, the goalies aren’t going to get much of a look.

The Oilers of the future are every bit as frustrating as they are exciting. They battled hard to get back into the game. I often feel now that these new Oilers have a much better battle level. There are still nights where they don’t show up, but no deficit seems insurmountable anymore for them. And don’t get me wrong.. I’m not breaking out the champagne. This team isn’t good enough yet. But I like these flashes like tonight where they show what we expect to see.

It should be noted too that Colorado is beaten up. They are also a fellow basement dweller, and the Oilers SHOULD win this one. So they need a little kick in the ass in their defensive play. But the top six continues to be unreal. If they could just bury more of those chances they get. I think the floodgates are going to open up before another moment where we are brought back down to earth.

Good performance by Hemsky’s line too.. they looked dangerous as ever. When Hemsky flies, he flies. He eats certain teams for breakfast. Hall, Nuge and Eberle all seemed to be bombarding the net too.

Justin Schultz… I will say that this was the worst game of his I’ve seen yet. Not to be critical of him. Even when he’s bad he’s still good. But maybe his back issues are more of a concern than he is leading on. He left his d partner hanging to dry too much tonight. But that’s the way that kind of player is.. live by the sword, die by the sword. I wouldn’t have it any other way with him. Might need a bit of rest though.

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Recent Comments:

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